By Gift Chapi-Odekina, Abuja

The Nigeria Citizens Watch for Good Governance (NCWGG) has endorsed the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and two Chinese firms for the rehabilitation, restart and expansion of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.

In a statement issued on Friday by its Chairman, Collins Eshiofeh, the group described the agreement involving NNPC Ltd, Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd. as a “strategic masterstroke” capable of transforming Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.

The group said the deal, if properly implemented, would strengthen energy security, reduce dependence on imported petroleum products, create jobs and conserve foreign exchange currently spent on fuel importation.

NCWGG noted that successive administrations had spent billions of dollars on refinery rehabilitation projects over the years without achieving lasting results.

According to the group, previous governments under late Heads of State and Presidents including Sani Abacha, Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari collectively expended over $3.5bn on refinery maintenance and rehabilitation without sustainable output.

The organisation, however, argued that the current arrangement differs from previous interventions because of the technical and financial involvement of the Chinese firms, which it said have established records in infrastructure and industrial development.

It cited projects such as the Abuja-Kaduna rail line, the Lagos-Ibadan railway and the Lekki Deep Sea Port as examples of successful Chinese-backed infrastructure projects in Nigeria.

The group further explained that the MoU was only a preliminary agreement aimed at developing a framework for future collaboration and did not amount to an immediate contract award or fresh rehabilitation spending by NNPC Ltd.

NCWGG commended the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Bashir Bayo Ojulari, for pursuing what it described as a commercially driven and transparent approach to refinery restoration.

It stated that since Ojulari assumed office in 2025, the company had not embarked on fresh government-funded refinery rehabilitation projects but was instead focusing on equity partnerships designed to minimise public funding exposure and ensure long-term operational sustainability.

The group also backed the position of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, which had called for transparency and professionalism in the execution of the agreement.

While acknowledging the contribution of the Dangote Refinery to domestic refining capacity, the group stressed that Nigeria could not rely solely on a private refinery for its energy security needs.

It urged Nigerians to support the initiative while calling on the National Assembly and anti-corruption agencies to provide constructive oversight to ensure the successful implementation of the partnership.